


A Home Away From Home

by ruination_fangs



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower Route, Established Relationship, F/F, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fluff, Post-Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 19:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20729246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruination_fangs/pseuds/ruination_fangs
Summary: Edelgard doesn't get lonely on the road, no matter how far she gets from the capital.





	A Home Away From Home

There is much to be done once the war is over, but Edelgard makes her tour of Fódlan one of her top priorities.

Officially she's "overseeing reconstruction," but everyone knows there's only so much she can do personally. She's had her government pour money and resources into the efforts all across the country, and they will proceed just as well without her presence. Her true aim is to make herself visible to the people - the downtrodden, the unsure, both those who hail her as their new emperor and those with grudges who still swear loyalty to their old sovereigns. The council's reactions were mixed, but Edelgard pays them little mind. It is her duty as the ruler of Fódlan not to sit atop some untouchable marble throne her people will never see.

This particular town in the west of what was once Faerghus is small - almost too small to warrant a stop. Reports showed, however, that citizens were coming from all over the nearby countryside to see the train of horses and wyverns escorting the emperor, and so Edelgard had marked it on the map and left it to her advisors to fit it into the route. The little town jumped to offer her the finest room in their finest inn, and despite the remote location, it hasn't disappointed. The room boasts a full vanity, floor-length mirror, fireplace, and curtained four-poster bed.

The last of these is the most important to Edelgard right now. She wakes up feeling warm and secure, lulled into dozing by the still air and lack of light inside the curtains, and doesn't open her eyes until a knock at the door rouses her.

"Your Majesty," a young male voice on the other side says, "your breakfast has been prepared. Shall I bring it in?"

Edelgard sits up; it must be later than she had thought. The bed is just so _comfortable_.

"Mmm... yes, please do," she says, pulling the curtains back just enough to make her head visible. It would be rude not to greet her server face-to-face.

She watches him enter and place a covered tray and teapot on the tea table near the fireplace, and then says, "Are you delivering meals to the others as well? If so, would you be kind enough to leave Byleth's here? She will be dining with me."

The young man seems to have to think for a moment. "Byleth... is in the room next door, correct? Yes, as you wish."

He retrieves a second tray, placing it by the first, and then bows before closing the door again. Edelgard retreats back into the bed and pulls the curtain shut.

It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness again, but even before that she sees that the shape next to her hasn't moved. She settles back down and reaches out to the figure underneath the sheets, and it curls into her, dark hair falling over closed eyes.

"Are you awake, my dearest?" Edelgard asks.

"Mmhmm," Byleth hums into her shoulder.

Edelgard smiles. "You are not."

"Yes I am," Byleth says, eyes still closed, head still limp against the pillows.

"Mmhmm," Edelgard repeats.

Suddenly Byleth straightens up. "If I was asleep," she asks in a mumble, "could I do this?" and presses her lips to Edelgard's forehead.

Edelgard's hand finds Byleth's cheek and guides her back down to her level. Her eyes are open now, though barely. "You do that while asleep all the time," Edelgard tells her, before pulling her into a more proper kiss.

_Now_ she's convinced Byleth is waking up. She reacts slowly but eagerly, and almost whines when Edelgard pulls away.

"It's time to get up, my love," Edelgard says softly, pulling the sheets back from both their bodies. "We have much to do today."

Indeed, they undoubtedly will still be in the middle of breakfast when Hubert appears to remind her of their itinerary and tell her all other preparations for today's activities are complete. She should at least be up and dressed by that time.

But before she can fully extricate herself from the blankets, an arm wraps around her and pulls her back to the mattress. "One more kiss," Byleth says, making no attempt to follow her example.

Edelgard sighs, though her lips twitch up at the corners. "Fine," she says, and leans back down.

So much has changed in the last several years, it can be difficult to suss out where the differences really lie, but she swears Byleth has been more expressive since the war ended. Not just around her - but especially around her, with more smiles and gentle touches and genuine reactions. It's like some barrier between Byleth and the outside world has broken, and they're finally getting to see the real professor. Edelgard has had to reevaluate some of her impressions of her, but it's only made her fall in love with her all over again.

It's easy for one kiss to turn to two, and two to three, and three to going back to bed, so again she forces herself away and decisively scoots to the edge of the mattress. Pulling back the curtains lets light flood over the bed, and Byleth squints.

"Do you need to retrieve anything from your room?" Edelgard asks, trying to dispel the lovely haze that's settled around them again and get back to business.

"No," is all Byleth says. She pushes the blankets away but doesn't get up.

Edelgard does feel a little guilty sometimes about letting their hosts give them an extra room, when much of the time Byleth barely even uses it, but it's a sacrifice she has to make. She knows that as emperor, everything she does will be both celebrated and scrutinized, and this relationship is not for the public. It is solely for the two of them, to keep for themselves, confined to empty hallways and private rooms and secluded balconies - one of the very few things Edelgard doesn't have to share with her people or her army or her council. That's why only their fellow Black Eagles were invited to the wedding, and why even now only Edelgard's closest friends and most trusted advisors are aware that she's seeing someone, much less already married.

She crosses to the tea table and removes the cover from one of the trays, and is immediately assailed by the tantalizing scents of cooked potatoes and sausages. One thing she will say for the countryside - the food is always amazing.

Maybe Byleth thinks so too, because she finally moves herself to the edge of the bed, though she stops short at getting out of it. Edelgard pours the tea, takes a sip, and offers her cup to Byleth, who seems marginally more awake after several swallows.

"This is good," she says as Edelgard sits next to her with the other cup. "Very similar to the blend we have in Enbarr."

Edelgard nods. "It is. I wonder if Hubert arranged it. I hope he doesn't think I feel homesick for the imperial palace when we travel."

"Do you ever?" Byleth asks.

"Parts of it, perhaps. But I have already spent much of my life away from it." Edelgard sips her tea, and, after a pause, goes on. "Besides, I have no reason to feel homesick when you're with me." Her voice softens from its usual matter-of-fact tone. "Thank you for coming along with us."

Just seeing her gentle smile makes Byleth smile too, and she reaches for Edelgard's free hand with her own. It's true that in another hour they likely will have to part again, but for now Edelgard thinks they can spare a few extra moments just to be together.


End file.
